In 2023, the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global gross domestic product (GDP) was roughly four percent lower than in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the contribution of travel and tourism to the global GDP amounted to 9.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. This figure was predicted to reach an estimated 11.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Which countries record the highest travel and tourism contribution to GDP? GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It is considered an important indicator of a country's economic strength, and a positive change in GDP is a sign of economic growth. Both before and after the impact of COVID-19, the United States and China were by far the leading travel markets based on the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. What are the most visited countries in the world? In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increased significantly over the previous year but did not catch up yet with pre-pandemic levels. That year, France was the country with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide, welcoming 100 million international visitors. Spain and the United States followed in the ranking in 2023.

The number of overnight tourists in the city of Madrid, Spain throughout 2022 increased significantly after the COVID-19 impact in the previous two years. October was the month with the highest number, reaching nearly 890 thousand guests in total.

Impact of tourism on Spanish GDP

International tourism is a significant driver of travel and tourism GDP in Spain. International tourists spend tens of millions of euros. The largest driver of the inbound tourism market is the United States, which has a very large population and for whom Spain is geographically one of the closer European destinations. However, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom see a larger share of their citizens taking vacation time Spain.

Leading regions

Different parts of Spain receive different numbers of tourists. Catalonia, home to Barcelona, and the tropical archipelago of the Canary Islands see the highest number of international tourists arrivals, with Madrid seeing roughly 1.7 million in a good year. As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic decrease, tourism is expected to return. With many people eager to find new scenery, Madrid is forecast to see numbers comparable to 2019 in the coming year.

This statistic shows the distribution of the gross domestic product (GDP) across economic sectors in Spain from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, agriculture contributed around 2.5 percent to the GDP of Spain, 20.12 percent came from the industry and 68.66 percent from the service sector.